Hi, welcome to Redeem the Commute. I’m Ryan, your host for the daily challenges.
Our daily challenges are meant to help you explore what it means to follow Jesus, even if you don’t have a lot of time. We have a rhythm that keeps us in sync, even if we’re not a community that meets together in person regularly. Every Monday we introduce the week’s idea. Every Tuesday we study it in the Bible. Every Wednesday we see how that challenges and transforms our thinking on the topic. Thursdays we try to apply and live it out. Friday is a day for prayer and reflection before we take a rest on Saturday, and Sundays we meet together with others in community.
Our series right now is called “We Are”. It follows on two other series – “God Is…” and “Jesus Is…”. Our attention now turns to us, human beings, and what knowing God and following Jesus actually means for our lives.
Had a conversation with someone this week who had just come from a basketball game the night before where he took a nasty hit from another player.
He spoke to the guy after, and said, “Hey, this is an over thirty pickup league, I’ve got kids, and need to get to work tomorrow morning”
This was way different from what he might have said ten years before. AS a guy in his early twenties, he may have been right in there. He might even have had a fistfight with the guy if he lost his cool.
But having matured, gotten a job, become a father and more, he has different priorities. Winning a game is less important, saving face is less important, and going home safe and sound at the end of the day is more important, as is getting up the next morning to work and feed his family.
I saw this change in myself as well. I remarked once while rock climbing that I wasn’t taking as many risks as I had when I started rock climbing heavily. A friend responded quite memorably – my courage peaked at 21. I decided that was true of me, too!
As people change, so too do their priorities, lifestyles and goals. In the Christian life, it’s not something that simply happens with age. This happens when the Holy Spirit enters someone’s life, and starts guiding them in new directions they’d never have gone before. We’ll learn this week about how this new Spirit affects us.
Question: Do you think God would evaluate your successes and failures the same way you do? Why or why not? What do you think God’s requirements for success are?